Omake Prologue: Enter the...Yggdrasil?

[Bean Bandit]

Keichii stayed silent, tense about seeing someone else move the body and mouth of his girlfriend, even though he'd seen it before...this was Bell, after all.

[Bean Bandit]

Bean's eyes opened at the sound of a voice of a young girl. Wait, is my little sister in my apartment again, Grr, I'm gonna...

Whatever he was gonna do was lost as he opened his eyes, and his gaze fell on the young girl in front of him.

"...Skuld." Okay, there is DEFINITELY something wrong with my voice. Now, I'm staring at an anime character. Why is that? "This is because I had natchos before bed, isn't it?"

[RyderHakubi]

"Heh... if only it were that simple.  Then, I'd be able to blame it on the cafeteria food..." Skuld replied with a small hint of a smile.

[Bean Bandit]

Bean blinked, groaning softly as the change in lighting made the headache throb.

"I...see." he managed. "Um...I feel funny...like everything's been switched around...and my voice sounds wrong." he said quietly. "Can you tell me, or am I going to have to find out on my own?"

[Bean Bandit]

Keichii coughed slightly, suddenly realizing he didn't want to be here for this.

"Um, can you handle this?" he asked Skuld.

[RyderHakubi]

Turning to Kei, Ryder replied, "Sure, I can handle it... You've gone through enough trauma today."

[Bean Bandit]

Keichii nodded gratefully, smiling slightly at the odd turn of a phrase from Skuld, and stood up, and stumbled from the room.

[RyderHakubi]

As soon as the door closed, Skuld turned to Bell...

"Well, do you want the easy version, or the hard one?"

[Bean Bandit]

Bean stared up at Skuld, not moving a muscle.

"I'm not going to like either version, am I?" he asked the young girl. "So...go with the hard one." he said resignedly.

[RyderHakubi]

Ryde nodded, and she said, "Alright... here's the hard truth.  First, do you watch anime?  It'll help me explain all this crap if you do..."

[Bean Bandit]

Bean's mouth twisted in wry smile. "Saying I 'watch' anime seems a little mild to describe my level of interest, Skuld. 'Obsess over' conveys it a little more accurately."

He frowned as his attempts to bring his voice into it's ordinary range were foiled, and his voice continued to sound high, and soft.

"I don't like what I'm beginning to gather, so I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me what's going on...and please, let if have to do with a jalapeno induced hallucination..." he pleaded.

[RyderHakubi]

"Well, that makes it easier... And we're in the same boat, trust me.  You should have seen my reaction when I woke up and saw Morisato..." Ryder said, with a hint of a smile.

"But, you wanted the hard truth... Take a look at yourself."

[Bean Bandit]

Bean craned his head slightly, and looked down...and saw that he was dressed in a simple, but feminine dress, and the expected accessories.

"..." He said slowly. "I haven't been drinking, have I? Except on very special occaisions involving schnapps, I don't usually dress like this..."

[RyderHakubi]

Shaking her head, Ryder said, "No, you haven't... Though, if I wasn't a minor, I'd be wasting away in Margaritaville because this is just f***ed up."

[Bean Bandit]

Bean turn his head to stare at the young goddess. "Oro! Hey, I thought you guys weren't allowed to say stuff like that?" he wondered. "And, while I agree with the sentiment, would you mind telling me what exactly IS f**ked up?"